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Dr. Drew to discuss what drives the pervasive role of celebrity in social media.

Sprinkle a dusting of voyeurism and you've got a near-perfect environment where celebrity culture can thrive.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB)September 13, 2009

The Parnassus Group, hosts of the world's first conference series dedicated to the professional uses of Twitter, have announced that Dr. Drew Pinsky will host a varied panel of media celebrities at the event.

Pinsky will be joined by singer Tyrese, X Games legend Tony Hawk, actor LeVar Burton, and lawyer Mark Geragos, to discuss "Twitter and Celebrities, a Match Made in Heaven?" 4:30-5:30 p.m., Tuesday, September 22 at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.

Pinsky is uniquely qualified to speak on the topic of celebrity culture and Twitter. He recently co-authored the New York Times best selling book "The Mirror Effect: How Celebrity Narcissism is Seducing America," and has his own following of a million-plus Twitter fans.

"The Twitter phenomenon is one whose roots can be found in the elemental human desire for expression and recognition," said Dr. Pinsky, host of the seminal radio program Loveline and Vh1's Celebrity Rehab reality series. "Sprinkle a dusting of voyeurism and you've got a near-perfect environment where celebrity culture can thrive."

In his session, Pinsky will moderate a discussion among fellow Twitter "superstars" that will attempt to answer the following questions:

Why do celebrities flock to Twitter, and why are so many people interested in what they had for breakfast?

What are the more effective tools and techniques that celebrities use to maintain and grow their Twitter presence?

What types of tweets raise and maintain subscribership? How does one keep the interest level high?

Monitoring and responding to relevant comments and messages -- how does one stay on top of it all? What role (if any) can staff realistically play?

For the (non-famous!) marketing and PR professional, what useful lessons can be extracted from the celebrity experience?

What monetization lessons are there? Are any celebrities converting their Twitter influence into direct revenue? If so -- how, and can it be emulated by non-celebrities?

"There are many lessons for business leaders here," said Steve Broback, CEO of the Parnassus Group and organizer of The Twitter Conference. "Understanding what drives tens of millions of people to voluntarily subscribe to real-time messaging from perfect strangers, and how to manage massive levels of subscribership is of serious interest to our attendees."

Those interested in attending the Twitter Conference can view the full schedule and register for the event at http://140tc.com/.

About Dr. Drew Pinsky:
The most listened to doctor in America, Dr. Drew is the host of the nationally syndicated radio show LOVELINE where he has been taking calls from listeners since 1983. He can be seen on the popular Vh1 reality series Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, it's companion series Sober House, and MTV's Sex… With Mom and Dad. Dr. Drew is an internist and is board certified in addiction medicine. He is the author of 3 books including the New York Times Bestseller, The Mirror Effect: How Celebrity Narcissism is Seducing America.

About The Parnassus Group:
Founded in 2004, Parnassus Group provides services to clients and partners seeking to participate in the social media space. They've helped everyone from Fortune 500 companies to sole proprietorships in their efforts to leverage technologies like blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and more.